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Cyclocross Nationals
 

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JohnC
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1939
Location: Glastonbury, Ct

1/4/17 10:42 AM

Cyclocross Nationals

In Hartford this week, about a mile from where I work downtown. I'm going to try to get over there on a long lunch hour and catch a bit of the racing. I don't think I'm going to be able to make it to the elite races on Sunday. I'm not knowledgeable at all about cyclocross, but I hear they've designed a good course in Riverside Park, with a variety of surfaces and topography, including some steep stuff going up and down the flood-control embankment.

They had a lot of rain for the first two days of racing, and it's warm again today, so lots of mud (I hear they like that). But the temperature is going down the rest of the week, with Sunday forecasting a morning low of 17 and a high of only 28, So frozen mud, I guess.

If I get there I'll try to post some pictures.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

1/4/17 11:21 AM

Frozen Mud

Wonder what kind of tires you use for that....

Have fun watching.

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

1/4/17 11:47 AM

If there are sunny spots they would be quite slick, but shady areas may have good traction. Hope tires may work best.

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JohnC
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1939
Location: Glastonbury, Ct

1/4/17 11:53 AM


quote:
If there are sunny spots they would be quite slick, but shady areas may have good traction. Hope tires may work best.

The park is on the west bank of the river, and mostly heavily wooded, so it's pretty much all shady except early in the morning.

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rickhardy
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 1492
Location: Needham outside of Boston - the hub of the universe

1/4/17 11:59 AM

Fun & games

https://www.facebook.com/BarkerMountainBikes/videos/10154896417333249/

Obviously the best line was on yur butt....


Yesterday mud..... coming soon...."rut row"

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henoch
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 1690

1/4/17 1:21 PM

That looks insane....

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

1/4/17 7:55 PM

We were there today...

...and the course is a muddy nightmare. Large sections of it are essentially unrideable by most participants. The "slip and slide" section in the video has been taken out for the time being, as have some smaller sections of the course which seem pretty innocuous. This may have been done because some of the lap times yesterday were so slow that they only got in two laps in the allotted time.

The next downhill section after the one in the video is equally steep and seriously off-camber. Very few people rode it successfully today. The mud was so thick that it completely packed any kind of tread and built up on the tires, so traction was almost non-existent. At one point during her reconnaissance/practice lap, Linda's brakes were so packed with mud and grass that the wheels wouldn't turn anymore. Conditions may actually have been better yesterday in the rain, as a least it was wet enough that the mud wasn't as sticky and the watery spots would help to wash it off.

The course is full of deep ruts and it's going to get down in the mid-20's tonight. If the ruts are allowed to freeze, the course is going to be extremely dangerous tomorrow. Rumor has it that the organizers were planning to roll the course to flatten it before it freezes, but I don't know if that will actually happen. We'll see in the morning. If they don't do something, it could be a busy day at the local ER.

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daddy-o
Joined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 3307
Location: Springfield

1/4/17 9:06 PM

Go get 'em tiger!

I was hoping to get a report from you. Have a great race and let us know how it goes!

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

1/5/17 4:09 AM

Linda's the "tiger"

I'm just the mechanic, coach and photographer. Depending on the condition of the course today, I'm likely to be stuck in the pits for the duration of her race. I strongly suspect that it's going to be a matter of simply surviving to the finish, rather than actually racing against her competition. My biggest concern is for Linda's safety and it's likely that the winner will be the "last woman standing".

I'll report back later today.

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henoch
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 1690

1/5/17 7:57 AM

Keep the reports coming, I enjoy reading them, and post links to any photos that you take.

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JohnC
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1939
Location: Glastonbury, Ct

1/5/17 9:28 AM

29 degrees in Hartford right now, at 10:30. It's not likely to get above freezing for more than an hour or two.

Thanks for the report, Brian. Good luck to Linda today.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

1/5/17 11:41 AM

If yesterday was like...

...pedaling through peanut butter mixed with lawn clippings, today was like concrete that had been trampled by a fleet of horse-drawn carts while it was wet. The organizers made no discernible effort to mitigate the ruts. The upside was that frozen mud provides excellent traction and doesn’t stick to anything.

When I got to the venue after dropping Linda off and parking the car, she rolled up to me complaining that the front brake was dragging. Apparently there was some residual moisture in the lever that froze when she started riding it (the temp was only 20 degrees this morning). I was able to free it somewhat, but she ultimately went to the friendly person at the WD-40 booth who gave it a shot of lube that fixed it completely.

Just like in 2012, Linda got a flat while riding the trainer provided in the warmup tent. The kids who run these things don't realize that if you crank the roller down until compresses the tire halfway with a clincher with only 20 PSI in it, the tire is going to creep on the rim and rip the valve stem out of the tube. Fortunately, when I arrived at the tent I happened to have a tube in my pack and was able to fix it with plenty of time left before the start of her race.

Linda finished the race without any mishaps on course and ended up third in her age group. She’ll be adding a new bronze medal to the one she got in 2012.

After the race, the venue started to thaw in places. While she was out tooling around waiting for me to get the car, she ran into an unexpected soft spot that gunked up her tires and she fell over. No major damage was done to her or the bike. Now that the season is officially over, she can finally let her accumulated bumps and bruises heal. ;-)

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henoch
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 1690

1/5/17 3:39 PM

Congrats on the podium

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rickhardy
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 1492
Location: Needham outside of Boston - the hub of the universe

1/5/17 5:59 PM

Congrats

To Linda and her mechanic :)

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